Big East Meets Friday On Next Steps

With current and future members scattered across the country, the Big East is a conference in transition.

So as he plots his next move, commissioner Mike Aresco needs to bring his constituency together. Aresco told The Courant last week that he is looking for a consensus from his members and he needs to hear ideas.

"We need to gather in one room," Aresco said.

That will happen Friday, when representatives assemble at a Dallas hotel for a conference meeting. There will be several topics on the agenda, including an expansion strategy and a plan for the departure of the seven non-FBS schools.

UConn will be represented by athletic director Warde Manuel and Rachel Rubin, chief of staff to President Susan Herbst. With Herbst unavailable to attend because of a previous commitment, Rubin will represent the president's office.

The meeting will gather members left from the old Big East (UConn, Cincinnati, South Florida and Temple) with incoming members (Central Florida, Tulane, Memphis, SMU, Houston, East Carolina and Navy). San Diego State is also expected to attend, although the school's status with the Big East remains in question.

San Diego State was to enter with Boise State, providing a West Coast presence as football-only members. But Boise State announced on New Year's Eve that it's staying in the Mountain West. San Diego State might decide to also remain in the Mountain West, although Aresco said last week he hopes the school remains committed to the conference and he'll try to convince school officials to join.

San Diego State has until the end of the month to decide its future.

It's unclear if the Big East will need to replace Boise State with another Western school, such as UNLV or Fresno State. Aresco said there are definite plans for expansion and that he did not believe the addition of another Western school was necessary.

But expansion will be discussed. Media reports indicate that Tulsa — which would provide a geographic rival for the Texas schools — could be a target and ESPN reported earlier this week that UMass was also a possibility for the Big East. UMass upgraded its football program to FBS status this year, going 1-11 while playing home games about 90 miles from campus at Gillette Stadium.

Houston, SMU, Memphis, Central Florida and San Diego State are scheduled to join this year, with departing members Louisville and Rutgers expected to stay at least through the end of the 2013-14 academic year. Tulane is scheduled to join as an all-sports member in 2014, when East Carolina joins as a football-only member.

East Carolina will likely be granted an invitation for all sports. And it's possible both East Carolina and Tulane will be asked to join in 2013 instead of 2014.

Aresco said last week that football scheduling and the structure of two football divisions would be addressed Friday.

Meanwhile, the seven non-FBS schools that are leaving the Big East have started the process of negotiating a television/media deal. ESPN and SI.com reported that representatives from the schools met with Fox Wednesday in New York as they seek a deal for their basketball conference. The seven schools (St. John's, Seton Hall, DePaul, Villanova, Georgetown, Providence College and Marquette) are expected to add three or five new members when they form their new conference.

ESPN reports that Fox — which is planning an all-sports network — "reaffirmed" an offer of a $500 million rights fee over 12 years, provided that the conference increases to 12 members. For the seven schools, that would be about double the TV revenue from the current Big East deal.

The seven schools have hired a New York law firm to represent them as they negotiate an exit from the current Big East. The schools, which are also expected to name a commissioner, could wind up with the Big East name, so Aresco's conference would need a new name.